Please see the calendar attached for changes to the waste collections over the Christmas period, as follows:

See details below. You can also download and print a copy here.

The call centre is open for queries from 9am – 3.30pm on 23 December, 9am – 5pm on 28, 29 and 30 December on 03000 610610.

In addition, garden waste collections are suspended over the holiday period to concentrate on Christmas waste collections. Collections resume in January 2023. For more information, please see the garden waste page https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/garden-waste/ on the Vale’s website.

Cold Weather Alert Level-3, 18:00hrs Wednesday 7^th December – 09:00hrs Monday 12^th December.

The Met Office has released a Cold Weather Alert Level-3, in effect from 18:00hrs Wednesday 7^th December – 09:00hrs Monday 12^th December. This may be extended as the cold conditions currently look to continue further into next week. 

• Conditions are expected to turn rather cold by mid-week as air from the Arctic spreads south across the country.
• Very cold nights are expected, with widespread frosts and potentially severe frosts.
• Daytime temperatures persisting near or just above freezing, with overnight temperatures continuing to trend downwards.
• Wintry showers in some coastal areas may push inland at times, bringing a risk of icy patches  

Further information and guidance is available online:

• UK weather warnings – Met Office
• http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/cold-weather-alert/

Please keep an eye on the forecasts over the next week.

In light of this warning, please check any road salt bins near your home, if they need topping up (empty or half full) please contact Oxfordshire County Council.

You can also find more information in the OCC Snow Guide.

Mace’s new construction partner Gilbert Ash start works on phase 2 this week (commencing 28^th November).  The early works will involve increasing the site levels using imported stone and the installation of drainage within the site hoarding. Following on from this, they will commence piling / foundation works in the new year for approx. 12 weeks. This will be followed by the commencement of the new concrete frame works. 

The Parish Council has been invited, along with other local groups and organisations, to a Community Liaison Group meeting in the coming weeks to engage with the community during the construction period. Meanwhile Gilbert Ash have produced their first community newsletter that outlines the initial construction activities and introduces members of their team. The newsletter can be read here. 

We will keep you up-to-date as we learn more and when the community liaison group begins to meet. If you have questions you would like to raise in this forum please contact the Clerk or the District Councillors Emily Smith and Debby Hallett.

Saturday 3^rd December, 10am to 1pm, Seacourt Hall: view, discuss, take part.

Come along to find out more about the public art coming to West Way, talk to the artists, see the plans, and even take part in creating art for our public spaces – for Christmas and for the future.

All ages welcome, especially children and young people. Come along to:

• Find out more about the public art coming to Botley in the next few months
• See the mosaic panels for West Way being finished with Clare Goodall and local volunteers who have booked on to Clare’s sessions
• View the plans and templates for the standing stones that local sculptor Alex Wenham is creating for the shopping centre
• Try out large-scale drawing with mural artist Nor, to help design new murals for the building opposite the hall
• Create artwork to decorate the Seacourt Hall for the Christmas period with local artist Ali Hogg

Everyone is welcome to drop in, take part, chat and meet the artists, or just come and have a look.

The event is hosted by North Hinksey Parish Council as part of the public art engagement for Botley’s West Way Square.

The annual Remembrance Service at the Commonwealth War Graves, Sunday 13th November and event on 11th November.

The annual Remembrance Service at the Commonwealth War Graves, North Hinksey Lane, will take place on Sunday 13th November from 10:45am to 11:45am. Gates will open at 10:30am.  The service will see participation by members of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces, the Commonwealth, and representatives from other countries whose Service personnel are laid to rest in the Cemetery. Involvement from the Parish includes Scouts, Guides and pupils from Matthew Arnold School alongside local voluntary and community organizations, dignitaries and religious leaders. Following the service there will be tea and cakes served by Botley Women’s Institute in the WI Hall across the road. All members of the Parish are warmly invited to attend.

In addition to the service, at 11am on Friday 11^th November, a 2 minute’s silence will be observed and a bugler will play the Last Post in the centre of Botley. This will take place in the West Way shopping centre at the Library end of the centre. All welcome.

Opportunity to create mosaic artworks on 3 Saturdays: 19th and 26th November, and 3rd December.

There are three elements to the Public Art planned for the shopping centre: standing stones, mural work and wall mounted mosaics. You can learn more about the overall project here.

For the mosaic element, artist Clare Goodall has designed three panels inspired by local nature, flora and fauna. Clare worked with Botley Primary School earlier in the year on ideas and for the design, she held mosaic making sessions at our Public Art Open Day in March and sessions with local participants to create the first panel in the summer. In September and October she worked with students at North Hinksey Primary School to create the second panel. Now she is looking for 8 local people to help create the third and final panel.

Clare will hold mosaic workshops on the mornings of Saturday 5th, 19th and 26th November, 10am to 12pm in Seacourt Hall. She is looking for 8 volunteers – adults and young people 12 years upwards – who can commit to all 3 dates. If you are interested contact goodall200@btinternet.com The hall will be open to all on those dates too so you can call in to observe the work and find out more about the overall project.

The mosaic panels should all be finished by December and are likely to be the first part of the artwork to be installed. Look out for more news coming soon.

We have been informed that further work is required to complete the resurfacing along Westminster Way. There will be a full road closure on Thursday 27^th October; 19:00 – 06:00. The outstanding areas of resurfacing will be between Harcourt Hill and Yarnells Hill.Harcourt Hill will remain accessible directly off of the A34. 

Both the bus companies and the university campus have been advised accordingly. There are two scheduled services affected during the hours of the road closure, details as below:

• The 400-service comes out of Oxford using the Botley Road and will still access the stop at the north end of Westminster Way.  It will then divert via the A34 and Hinksey to then access Harcourt Hill and the Brookes campus directly off of the A34.  The stops along Harcourt Hill and at the Brookes campus will still be served.  Leaving the campus, it will access directly back onto the A34, up to the Botley Interchange to continue its route into the city.  The Brookes campus are already aware. The stops at Yarnells Hill and Raleigh Park Road along Westminster Way will therefore not be in use for the duration of the full road closure (19:00 – 06:00Hrs).

• The City4A will route via Botley, into Westminster Way, and then turn up Arthray Road to access the estate, exiting via Arnolds Way. This is the same route as it would normally take so is unaffected.

An updated letter will be sent to all residents and businesses affected advising them as well.

Now open for consultation: the new planning application for the Louie Memorial Pavilion.

The new pavilion will provide changing room spaces for the adjacent sports fields and a small and large hall with associated kitchen, toilets, and storage facilities. The design will be holistically sustainable from its orientation and construction (most likely timber frame) to low carbon technologies such as solar PVs.

Due to delays caused by Covid-19 and fundraising time-scales it was not possible to act on the previously granted permission before the deadline expired in July this year. Given this, NHPC undertook further public consultation in May which resulted in some changes: reduced overall scale and parking spaces, removing meeting room and making the small hall a little smaller but with bifold doors for option to expand into the lobby area.  

The new pavilion is 360sqm (Gross Internal Area not including storage units) compared to the existing buildings of 290sqm. This represents an 70sqm increase but is smaller than the previously approved pavilion (which was 409sqm). 

The application is open for consultation.

Please comment online here by 2nd November.

The Design & Access Statement is available in 5 parts below.  Read the full application details on the Vale’s planning site here.

Design & Access Statement:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

Temporary Footpaths closure North Hinksey due to footbridge works.

Parts of footpath Numbers 311/1/10 and 320/16/10 at North Hinksey will be closed because of refurbishment of the Fishes Footbridge which is anticipated to be completed on 4 November 2022. The alternative route will be signed via Willow Walk and the Fishes pub. Drawings showing the extent of the closure and the alternative routes for traffic can be found below.

• Drawing showing works and alternative route.

Exemptions are included for emergency services, for Works and for pedestrian access to premises which are only accessible from the closed sections of footpath. Appropriate signs will be displayed to indicate when the measures are in force. 

Further information regarding the works may be obtained by contacting Gene Jegorovs of Oxfordshire County Council (Communities – Asset Renewals – Bridges) on 07798 724 866.